Ben Lawson

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Ben Lawson
BL Image.jpg
Born (1980-02-06) 6 February 1980 (age 45) [1]
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Family Josh Lawson (brother)

Ben Lawson (born 6 February 1980) [1] is an Australian actor. From 2006 until 2008, he played Frazer Yeats in the Australian soap opera Neighbours . The role earned him a Logie Award nomination. Lawson has since appeared in several American television series, including The Deep End , Covert Affairs , and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 . In 2011, he starred opposite Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in the film No Strings Attached . From 2017 to 2018, he starred as Damien Rennett on the ABC political drama Designated Survivor . He also played baseball coach Rick Wlodimierzin in the second season of 13 Reasons Why , and Larry Hemsworth on The Good Place . Lawson portrays Lachlan Murdoch in the 2019 film Bombshell , alongside his brother Josh Lawson who played James Murdoch. He also starred in the Netflix series Firefly Lane (2021-2023). In March 2023, he became an American citizen. [2]

Contents

Early life

Lawson was raised in Brisbane and attended St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. [3] [4] His father Peter is a GP and his mother Dianne was a flight attendant then secretary. [5] He is the third of five boys including Josh Lawson, an actor who is known for his appearances on Thank God You're Here . [6] [7] Their parents divorced when Lawson was seven. [5]

At the age of 11-12 he set out to secure an acting agent. [6] [8] A number of screen appearances followed in Time Trax (1993), The Adventures of Skippy (1993), The Wayne Manifesto (1997), Sabrina Down Under (1999), Chameleon II: Death Match (1999) and TwentyfourSeven (2022). [8] [6] He has said he was "kicked out" of drama school at the University of Southern Queensland before graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). [7] [5] [9] [6]

Career

Acting

Lawson joined the main cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Frazer Yeats in 2006. [9] His role earned him a nomination for Most Popular New Male Talent at the 2007 Logie Awards. [10] Lawson departed Neighbours in April 2008. [11] He then moved to Los Angeles in 2008. [7] [9]

Lawson had a small role in the film No Strings Attached , which starred Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. He also appeared in the television action drama Covert Affairs . [12] In August 2012, he landed a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 as Benjamin, a love interest for main character Chloe (Krysten Ritter). [13] In 2017, Lawson starred in the short lived CBS drama Doubt opposite Laverne Cox. On The Talk , Cox said that Lawson was "an amazing actor". [14]

Lawson played Larry Hemsworth, the fictional "hideous shame" of the Hemsworth family on The Good Place , and he and his brother Josh played Lachlan and James Murdoch respectively in the 2019 film Bombshell . [9]

In July 2017, Lawson was cast as MI6 agent Damien Rennett on the second season of the ABC political drama, Designated Survivor . [15] In 2018, Lawson played high school coach Rick on the second season of the Netflix original series, 13 Reasons Why . [16] In 2019, Lawson starred as Thomas 'Clay' Fox Jr. in Dolly Parton's Heartstrings , Netflix's anthology series about Dolly Parton. In 2021, Lawson starred in the Netflix series Firefly Lane opposite Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. [17]

In May 2024, Lawson was named for the Australian-Irish co-commission series Mix Tape. for Binge [18] He also filmed the first series of Victoria drama series, Love Divided By Eleven for Stan. [19]

Poetry

During the 2020 Australian bushfires, Lawson wrote a poem titled To My Country, and a video of him reading it went viral on social media. [5] [9] In January 2021, the poem was turned into a book of the same name with illustrations by Bruce Whatley and proceeds from sales going to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. [9] [5] [20] [21] In January 2021, he wrote a poem entitled The 26th of January about the history of Australia Day, using sarcasm to support the movement to change the date. [22]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995Silent HunterBud
2011 No Strings Attached Sam
2011In Loco ParentisRichardShort film
2014 The Little Death Glenn
2015 Now Add Honey Joshua Redlich
2016Keep the ChocolatesManShort film
2019The Way We Weren'tBrandon
2019 Bombshell Lachlan Murdoch
2021Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About MenLongfellow
2025 Anaconda

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993 Time Trax 12-year-old DarienEpisode: "A Stranger in Time"
1993 The Adventures of Skippy ChristopherEpisode: "Skippy and the Tiger"
1997 The Wayne Manifesto MervynEpisode: "Wheels Within Wheels"
1999 Sabrina Down Under WaiterTelevision film
1999 Chameleon II: Death Match Tyler KubicaTelevision film
2001 TwentyfourSeven ScottEpisode: "It's My Life"
2006 Perfect Disaster KenEpisode: "Fire Storm"
2006–2008 Neighbours Frazer Yeats 188 episodes
Role held: 12 October 2006 – 25 April 2008
Nominated—Logie for Most Popular New Male Talent
2009 Ghostly Encounters Theatre GhostEpisode: "Buildings with History"
2010 The Deep End Liam PrioryMain role; 6 episodes
2011 Covert Affairs Dr. Scott Weiss3 episodes
2012 The League Dr. LevensonEpisode: "The Hoodie"
2012–2013 Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 Benjamin Lovett3 episodes
2013 Bones Martin ZandEpisode: "The Fury in the Jury"
2013 The Exes DerekEpisode: "How the Grinch Spent Xmas"
2014 Rake Craig3 episodes
2014 Secrets & Lies Paul Murnane3 episodes
2014 Love Child Colin Ryan3 episodes
2014 2 Broke Girls TimEpisode: "And the Wedding Cake Cake Cake"
2014 Jennifer Falls DavidEpisode: "Triangle"
2014 Friends with Better Lives DougEpisode: "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
2014 Modern Family GeorgeEpisode: "Won't You Be Our Neighbor"
2014 Mulaney GregEpisode: "In the Name of the Mother, and the Son, and the Holy Andre"
2016 iZombie Andy LeGareEpisode: "Fifty Shades of Grey Matter"
2016 Angel from Hell Darren JensenEpisode: "Soulmates"
2016 Billions MikeyEpisode: "Where the F*ck Is Donnie?"
2017 Grimm William StillmanEpisode: "The Seven Year Itch"
2017 Doubt DA Peter Garrett9 episodes
2017–2018 Designated Survivor Damian RennettMain role (season 2)
2018 13 Reasons Why Coach Rick Wlodimierz7 episodes
2018 The Good Place Larry Hemsworth3 episodes
2019 Dollface OliverEpisode: "F*** Buddy"
2019 Heartstrings Clay FoxEpisode: "If I Had Wings"
2021 The Waltons' Homecoming John Walton Sr.TV movie
2021 The Moth Effect HostTV miniseries
2021–2023 Firefly Lane Johnny [17] Main role
2025 Mix Tape MichaelTV series: 4 episodes
2025 Love Divided By Eleven Post production

References

  1. 1 2 Ben Lawson TV Insider. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  2. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ↑ (9 February 2021). I came across a '91 Queensland Origin jersey and I thought... 'you beauty... this is it' Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  4. ↑ (13 January 2020). Aussie actor’s moving poem about bushfire crisis goes viral Courier Mail. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ben Lawson: Why I penned the poem to My Country". 23 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Anita, Anabel (15 February 2000). TheLatch— Profiles: Australian Actor Ben Lawson The Latch. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  7. 1 2 3 Idato, Michael (9 January 2018). "Surviving fame: Ben Lawson on failure, success and Hollywood's pound of flesh". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  8. 1 2 Hageman, Estefania (2018). interview | ben lawson Schön!. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sams, Lauren (22 January 2021). "'I've failed very gradually upwards,' says actor Ben Lawson". Financial Review. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Logie Nominations 2007". David Knox. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2007.
  11. ↑ "Blair is right neighbourly". Herald Sun.
  12. ↑ "Don't miss" . Herald Sun . 10 August 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2024– via Gale.
  13. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (17 August 2012). "'Apartment 23': Ben Lawson to Romance Chloe". The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Talk". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  15. ↑ Petski, Denise (14 July 2017). "'Designated Survivor': Ben Lawson Cast As Series Regular in Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  16. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (8 August 2017). "'13 Reasons Why' Adds Seven New Actors for Season 2". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  17. 1 2 "'Firefly Lane': Ben Lawson Joins Katherine Heigl in Netflix Drama Series". 13 August 2019.
  18. ↑ Knox, David (12 May 2024). "Mix Tape drama now filming in Sydney | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  19. ↑ (19 February 2025). New series Love Divided By Eleven in love with in Victoria Vic Screen. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
  20. ↑ "Book Review: To My Country". -MindFood. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  21. ↑ Tam, Adrienne (21 November 2020). "Ben Lawson: LA-based actor says US response to COVID has him homesick". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  22. ↑ Anabel, Anita (25 January 2021). "Actor Ben Lawson's Rousing Poem Points Out What's Wrong With Australia Day". The Latch. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
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